The shirt hem, often defined by its shape, is the bottom end of the shirt, which is folded and hemmed to create a finished edge on the garment. Proper Cloth has three types of hems to choose from for both business and casual shirts.
Rounded Hem
Rounded Hem Design
The rounded hem is the most common choice for business and business casual shirts. It features a 2” rise on each side of the shirt, curving up towards the side seams, which gives a rounded shape to the front and back shirttails. Our shirts are reinforced at the highest point of the rise with side seam gussets, a design detail that both strengthens the shirt at this point of stress and signifies high-quality construction.
Straight Hem
Straight Hem Design
The straight hem is a popular choice for casual, and particularly untucked, shirts. It is, as the name suggests, cut straight across all the way around the bottom of the shirt, and features a 2.5” vent in the bottom of the side seam on each side of the shirt.
Sizing Tips: We suggest making two small adjustments to your shirt size if you apply a straight hem to your shirt design. First, ensure that the midsection width is the same as or very close in measurement to the bottom width, as this will help to create an optimal relaxed look without the “hourglass” shape typical of more formal shirts. Second, you might also consider decreasing the shirt length by about .7″ so the shirt doesn’t feel too long when you’re wearing it untucked.
Polo Hem
Polo Hem Design
The polo hem is traditionally a design feature of classic polo shirts. It’s cut straight across all the way around the bottom of the shirt, but the back shirttail is 1” longer than the front shirttail. It includes side seam vents on each side of the shirt, much like the straight hem does, however given the difference in front and back shirttail lengths these vents are 1” long.